Transportation system.



A- M. BATES.

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT 30. m4.

la ltented Feb. 29,1916.

7 Z?! 067110 (I (/(1 0/ cf/If 13075 7 I 6 (Q5 Quad A. M BATES.

TRANSPORTATIGN SYSTEM.

APPLICAHON men on. 30, 1914.

1,173,245. Patented Feb. 221, mm.

2 SHEETS-SHEEI 2.

7/1 men??? s'ra'r e- PA E OFFICE ADELMEB Mr- BATES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BATES VALVE BAG COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF \VEST VIRGINIA Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

I Application filed October 80, 1914. SeriaLNo. 869,471.

i Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of lllinois, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in Transportation Systems, of which the following .is a -specificatioin I i I My invention relates to a transportation system intended for use particularly in fac- In one form ings, whercin Figure 1 is aside elevation: Fig. 2 a cross section on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a detail plan view partly in section; Fig. 'ft a front elev'ationof a. truck; Fig; 5 is a diagrammatic lay-out plan.

Like partszae indicated by the same let- ,ter in all'the figures.

A is an overhead ra l, 13, 13 brackets on which it'is supported, C, C hangerslooped' above 'at C and each provide with a pulley or traveler C running on the rail A. The

hanger is'pr'ovided with a-shelf'or platform C below, and is adapted to receive upon such platform the-spools D prmidecl each With'the ends D, D lying on'opp'osite sides of-thebody of the hanger, The bottom'of' the hunger is provided with aneye E'to which may be secureda short length of chain E at the lower end of which is at tached the coupler E", which may be. a rope, cable,chain or. rod. coupler has a hook E The spools are at tached to the cable I and are. adapted to be received into pockets FR F in the periphery of the drire wheel l which is support ed on the shaft F and driven in any desired manner. Y

(ij' is a twoarlicch-d truck in this case shown with the handles (i and the wheels (l and a transverse twisted ralile ('i' between the two handles at the 'niiddlc of which the loop G to receive the hook E .l a tar-tor lloor llltl tlillily adapted to rcrr-irc and permit. the movement 'of trucks or vehicles thou-along.

J", .l arc lillin pouts'to whichmaterial is supplied.

l are freight lflllr on the trail-lid at the J idr of the fa tor lloor.

J, J anthr our doors oppositithe fartorv doors. I"

l harcshown a-singlccouph-r and hunger,

i by the operators and the disengaged tracks of the several parts.

At the lower end the but, of course, there may be any desired number of them attached at intervals along the. line of the power pull. '1. liave'showii in Fig 5 an arrangement of parts whereare at one. side. of the line oftravel so as not to interfere with the moving trucks. T his, of course, involves such a hanger and coupler as will be capable-of lziteraloscillw tion. I have shown the coupler'as' inclined or trailing when engaged in drawing and supporting the free end of the'truck; These parts could no doubt be greatly modified.

While the structure which I have shown is in point of fact a substantially:correct illustration of a \\-orkings "stem. neverthe, less I desire to have my drawings taken as .in a. sense diagrammatic pr merely illustrative. of a general type or form ofxa parat-us which contains my invention, and? do not wish to be limited to the -.p"arti'ciilarform, structure, size, arrangement of proportion The .use and operation. of "ii-ly'inventi'on may he explained by referringf-to the-paLr- ,ticular form of structure here-illustrated.

Assuming, forexample, "the problem (if'filling freight cars arranged. along the-side of a cement mill, the bags of "ccnient 'having been filled by means of a valve filling procthe operation of a system' embodving my invention-will be as followszf The'filling. apparatusesarc supposed to be in operation at some part of the factory and they supply nmterial at one side, of the transportation system and there the operators are placed and the bags are filled. Now these bags as soon as filled are to be transported to some other part of the factory, as for example. to the doors where the freight cars are lined up. The operators will be stationed one or more at the tilling'or filled ha: ccririn station at one side of the line of trawl of the trucl'" and one or l'llOli, at. the point whomthe bagged material is to he put into the cars. The bag loaders will have carh an empty truck and they will load or supply the truck with'the filled hag-s as illustrated in the drawing, and when a;

will 7 the power .pull will. of rourse. immediately tighten the coupler, as soon as the operator releases the ported at a slight forward inclination from the ranger and its wheel until it has reached the point where the material is to be unloaded. The .operator there stationed will seize the truck handles and lift them slightly, whereupon the hook will disengage, because the coupler being in a trailing'or inclined position will, as soon as the pressure is taken offits lower end by the disengagement of the book from the loop, fall into a vertical position, thus freeing the truck. The operator will now move the truck into the desired position, as for example to or into the car, and dump the contents or unload it. He will then bring out the empty truck at one side of the line of travel, seize the next empty or disen- 3 gaged coupler, draw it to one side of the line of trave'hhook it into the loop of the truck and as an empty the truck will proceed as before drawn by the power pull until it reaches the place where some ope-rator desires an empty truck.

Of course, there may be any desired number of operators, any desired number of places where the empty trucks are filled and attached, and any desired number of places where the filled trucks are disengaged, emptied and reattached to the power pull. The power pull may have any desired circuit of travel and proceed upon dificr ent elevations. It is substantially overhead and out of the way and when not supplied with trucks or vehicles continues its course, carrying the series of couplers in an endless procession alon the line travel.

By having the couplers so that they can be easily moved or easily swung laterally from the line of travel, it is possible for all the operations to be carried on without in terference, and there may be a quick procession of the filled or empty trucks or both passing each point of operation with out interference with the operators.

Obviously the trucks may be of any desired character and I have used the term vehicle as a broader term than the one sug gested by the device used in the illustrations. 1 mean by vehicle to indicate any transportation de'vice traveling when in my system on a pivotal support and adapted to travel or be moved over or upon the track or floor surface lipon which it rests. All that is necessary is a proper supporting surface and the floor of the factory dock or the like would he usually all that is necessary. The power pull moves continuously in the same direction and is preferably driven by a drive wheel which engages the supports or'other like devices on the cable. The hangers may be of any desired character, but something like what is here illustrated is likely to be found to be the best. There would normally be one-hanger foreach third or fourth spool and the hanger and associated spool are so shaped and an ranged that they permit the proper action of the driving wheel, the spool being received into the pockets thereof. I have shown a very simple hanger and means of attachment to the truck, but other forms of device could be made. In the preferred orm of my device there is an overhead continuously moving power pull, a series of hangers depending therefrom and carried thereby, a series of couplers preferably oscillatory so that they can be swung laterally from the line of travel longer than the interval between the pull and the part of the vehicle to \vhich'the coupler is attached so that they will tend to trail, a series of' vehicles the weight of which rests upon the supporting surface and over which they are adapted to travel and an arrangement or means whereby a coupler can be engaged or disengaged with a truck or vehicle while the pull is in motion and and preferably I the vehicle at rest or in motion as the case may be.

To effect the connection between the truck or vehicle and the power pull, I have shown a hanger connected to and traveling with the pull and a chain and coupler depending therefrom. 'Of course, the essential point is simply a coupler from the pull to the truck or vehicle and the term coupler as distinguished from the expression coupler eX- tension I shall employ as indicating broadly the entire means for making. the connection between the truck and the power pull. The disengaging point I lave shown as at the truck, but, of course, it might be elsewhere. A short length of chain furnishes for practical purposes a universal joint or swivel forming part of the coupler.

I c aim:

l. A transportation system comprising an overhead supported traveling power pull, a lower supporting surface, a vehicle h'aving at one end a pivotal traveling support on the surface and a detachable coupler from the unsupported end of the vehicle to the power pull whereby such end of the vehicle is supported and the vehicle is carried forward over the surface by the pull.

2. A transportation system comprising an overhead traveling support, a traveling power pull, alower supporting surface, a vehicle having at one end a pivotal traveling support on the surface and detachable coupler from the unsupported end of the vehicle to the overhead traveling support "lfiitl thepowsr pull whereby such end of the which supported and the vehicle is car-- r nd forward over the surface by the pull.

A transportation system comprising an minor-net rail with a truvcler thereon, a traveling power pull, a loner supporting; r llfl ll c, u vcl'licle having at one end :1 pivotal unveiling support on the surface and a deta hable coupler from the unsupported url of the vehicle to the traveler and the power pull whereby such curl of thevehicle is supported and the/ vehicle is earned forvvurtl wer the surface by thc pull.

l. A trzmsportation system comprising an mcrhcaal rail with a tra'veling pulley thereon, u puns) pull connected with and supported lav such pulley, u lowcr supporting su l'ncc. u vehicle having at one cull a pivotal trawling support on the surface. and u rleiwlmlilc coupler tron; he uusuipportcil cu l. t ic vehicle to tho pullcy and the pom-vi pull whereby such curl of the vehicle is supported and the vehicle is carried foruurrl over the surt'uce by the pull.

5) transportation system comprising an overhead supported traveling power pull, a loner su iiporting surface. :1 vehicle having at one end :1 pivotal traveling support on the surface and u detachable laterally swinging coupler from the unsupported curl of the vehicle to the power pull whereby such end ii the v liirle supported and the vehicle is carrieil lorwaril over the surface by the pull.

(9. A transportation system comprising an ovcrhuul traveling support, a traveling power pull. a lower supporting surface, a vehicle having at one end a pivotal travel mg support on the surface and uhle laterally swinging coupler tr: supported eml of the vehicle to 2'2; traveling: supruvrt zil'ltl the poucr by such end of the vehicle su; the vehicle is carried forward o face by the pull 7. A transportation system comprising an overhead rail with a traveler Lhercon traveling power pull, a lower supporting surface, a vehicle having at one end a pivotal traveling support on the surface and a detachable laterally swinging coupler from the unsupported. exnl the vehicle to the travele and the power pull v-hereby such curl of the vehicle is supported and the vehicle is carried forward over the surface by the pull. w l

8. A transportation system comprising an overhead rail u ith u traveling pulley thereon, a power pull connectml with anal ma ported by such pulley. a lower upporting surface, a vehicle having at one end a pivotal traveling support on the surface, and a detachable laterally swinging coupler from the unsupported end of th vehicle to the pulley and the power pull whereby such end of the vehicle is supported, and the vehicle carried forward over the sur .e by the pull.

In testimony whereof, I ailix iny signature in the presence of :1 witness this 22nd day of October, 1914.

ADELMER M. BATES :1 detachi': the unlieucl ereurtctl un l the sur- Witness Bsssm S. RICE. 

